The city council listened to a presentation during Tuesday's agenda preparation meeting from a Russellville native who wants to bring a charter air transportation company to Russellville Regional Airport.

Ryan Partin, president and CEO of Pilot Investors, said the charter transportation company would be subsidized by the city -- as well as the company and a Department of Transportation (DOT) grant -- to offer area residents a low-fare alternative of transportation using a new four-passenger, six-seat jet aircraft.

Partin said a five-year plan for his company that would begin with the city providing $6,200 to fund writing and applying for the grant proposal, would be administered by the Russellville Airport Commission. He asked council members to consider the first step during their regular meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Deadline for the Small Community Air Service Development Program Grant is April 7.

The company would build a 12,000-square-foot operations facility at the airport, and would pay the airport a rental fee for two acres needed for the facility. Partin said he expected 34 employees to work at the company from day one, and up to 139 people by the fifth year of operation.

"This program and Pilot Investors as a company will be a great benefit to Russellville both in terms of jobs, support for the airport, and low-cost air transportation," Partin told The Courier on Wednesday. "My ultimate objective in regards to this program is to offer the lowest hourly rate possible, with the lowest total cost to city government."

Partin provided examples of trips that would originate from Russellville: roundtrip flights to Dallas or Nashville would cost $1,600, or $400 per person for four passengers; roundtrip to Chicago or Atlanta would be $2,400, or $600 per person for four passengers; and roundtrip to Oklahoma City for $1,200, or $400 per person for three passengers.

He said several Russellville companies and business individuals would utilize the charter program to transport their management, and included various charter companies that charged more than $1,000 per hour, as opposed to Pilot Investors, which would set its public charter fare rate at $800 per hour including the city's subsidy.

Total subsidy program costs, according to Partin's estimates, would be $418,982 for Pilot Investors and $156,125 from the city. The total DOT grant funding request totals $722,750.

Partin said the information he presented to aldermen Tuesday, including annual subsidy costs, is extremely preliminary.

"The actual cost to the city, in terms of what they will be willing to pay in regards to subsidy factors, is still very much up for debate," Partin said. "The amount listed in the document is only a suggestion that helps to arrive at the first-year rate of $800 per hour. This number can be shifted either way, and the sources for subsidy could very well extend out to other cities that will utilize this, the county and even the state level. All the aforementioned factors could potentially greatly reduce any cost to the city."

"By putting our operational center at the airport, we pay for two acres that goes directly into the airport," Partin said. "That's our front door to the city and to incoming customers. We would be greatly involved in every aspect of improving the airport's facilities. We want to help the airport in any way we can, to improve the health and growth of the airport.

"By getting this grant program and getting these aircraft out there, a lot more people can utilize Russellville Regional Airport. This is a critical program to add to Russellville's impressive growth rate and economic development efforts."